


Skeleton Boy

by HookbackKarkat



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Comatose, Feels, Gen, Other, Personal AU, Unspecified narrator, dreamstalker sans??, i wrote this for class, non-gender relationship, some sort of aftertale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-29 02:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6355381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HookbackKarkat/pseuds/HookbackKarkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Real original.)<br/>"Okay, let me just start out by saying that I know exactly how dumb this sounds. I’m sure this is all just some figment of my imagination, only concocted as a way to cope. Trust me, I know. But the truth is, I don’t want this to be a drug-induced comatose hallucination, or a dream. I want him to be real."<br/>Follow the short story of a comatose narrator and a random monster that grounds them to reality until they wake up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Okay, let me just start out by saying that I know exactly how dumb this sounds. I’m sure this is all just some figment of my imagination, only concocted as a way to cope. Trust me, I know. But the truth is, I don’t want this to be a drug-induced comatose hallucination, or a dream. I want him to be real.

I want to see him again.

...Let me start at the beginning:

About a year ago, I was in a pretty bad car accident. I’m fuzzy on the details, no one will discuss it with me. All I know is that I broke plenty of bones and got a nasty concussion. Needless to say, I was in the hospital for quite a while. I don’t remember anything for the longest time, just the sensation that I was floating in darkness. After what might have been minutes or months, it changed. I slowly began to fall, faster and faster. It was terrifying and surreal. And as I looked down, I could see a faint bluish light. It got closer and closer with alarming speed and as I fell into it I found myself awake.

Not in a hospital, like I would have expected. In fact, I wasn’t quite sure where I was. Looking around it seemed to be some sort of cave, set up like someone’s house. The first thing I noticed was a blue ball of light that must have hung from the ceiling, though I saw nothing holding it up. I was sitting on a handwoven rug, with intricately woven blue and orange patterns set on black. A doorframe was to my left, holding a closed blue door set in the middle of the cavern with about five feet of open space on either side. Bizarre, but enough to make me chuckle internally. I was only fourteen, dumb things were funny to me. Still are, I guess. I looked the other way and my eyes widened when I saw the Nintendo first, then the surrounding living room-esque setup complete with a couch, coffee table, and TV.

I simply sat there for a few moments, taking in the details of my surroundings and debating whether I should get up and look around, it could be dangerous. Another few minutes passed before I made up my mind, standing cautiously.

“No, no. Stay where you are. It’s much easier if I don’t have to create more than one room at a time. I’m already bone tired.”

An unexpected voice made me jump, wheeling around to face the speaker. Had he been behind me the whole time? When I saw him, I wasn’t quite sure what I had been expecting. His voice hadn't sounded very human in the first place, it was similar to a deep baritone but it resonated in an odd way and clattered on harder sounds like k and t. I was face to face with someone about my height, he was literally a skeleton and I couldn’t figure out what was holding him together at first. He wore a dark blue hoodie, black sweatpants with blue stripes down the sides, and blue converse high-tops. Thinking about it now, I don't think I ever saw him wearing anything else.

“Are you comfortable, kid?” He was a rather animated speaker, I noticed, though he didn't move his mouth when he talked. “You shouldn't actually need anything, but hey, you're my guest and all so don't be afraid to ask if you want some popato chisps or something.” He just watched as I blinked in surprise, as if he got this all the time.

“I… I'm fine.” I replied after another moment’s hesitation, slowly sitting back down. I felt lightheaded.

He walked closer, sitting cross-legged across from me on the rug. As he neared I could make out more details, he had pale chubby cheeks and his eye sockets were lit from within by white little balls of plasma that seemed to move around as if they were his pupils, an indication of where he was looking.

“Don’t worry, the shock goes away once you get used to me. It doesn't get under my skin.” I could never tell you how he did it, but he winked at me right then to accompany his rattling laughter. “I just figured you'd want something to do instead of laying around in a com, yknow?.”

Of course, I thought he’d been kidding about the coma part until I woke up.

We sat there for what was probably hours, talking and cracking puns. He asked me lots of questions about myself and my life and what it was like in the 21st century. He seemed absolutely fascinated about seemingly unimportant things, like the TV remote and how it worked. His eyes would get wide like a little kid’s if I brought up something he thought was really cool, like 3D printers or a particular sci-fi novel franchise.

He seemed so childish like that sometimes, and others he was very calm and serious. It was interesting to watch. After a very long time he paused me right in the middle of my sentence, smiling as he told me he had somewhere to be for now. The cave began to fade around us until he and I were floating in the darkness, and I could see only the dim glow of his eyes. He was always so nonchalant about leaving, like it didn't matter.

“Welp, catch ya later kiddo.”

He would disappear for some time, leaving me in the darkness before returning along with my sense of reality.

The second time I met him, he was the one who did the majority of the talking. He brought me a story that I don’t really remember, but I know I’ll never forget the way he described it.

“Here, pal. I want to tell you a story. It’s about an old friend of mine, someone I knew a long time ago. Before a lot of things. Before I became this.”

He’d gestured to his own face with one hand, chuckling quietly as he began the story. I’d asked about it a few times after that, but he gave me the same answer that he would if I asked about him or this place. A grin, a wink, and the simple response of ‘that doesn’t matter’. 

Most of our meetings are dreamlike and blend together when I try to remember them clearly, the things that stand out are mostly dumb jokes and sometimes the occasional bit of information about himself. It took him a very long time to give me anything substantial, but he finally relented when I asked him what his name was. It… hadn’t ever really occurred to me before, I guess. It was just us anyways, and he’d call me ‘kiddo’ or ‘buddy’ instead of my name. When I asked him that ever-present grin of his faltered a little, still showing all of his teeth but seemed more forced. He told me his name, though, the flames in his eyes dimming to a soft glow as he looked down. Sighing softly, he seemed disappointed. Perhaps even in himself.

“That’s a nice name…” I’d commented lamely, and the two of us let the conversation drop for a while after that. 

The next memories gradually began to fill with homesickness. I missed my mom and dad and even my big brother. It felt awkward and almost mean to bring it up, especially when he’d been so nice to me, but after not too long I cracked. I asked when I would be able to leave. Again sadness and disappointment dimmed his eyes but he tried to play it off with a crooked grin.

“What, I’m... not cool enough all of a sudden? You’ve got everything you need around here, my… homeslice bread slice dawg…”

“I want to go home…” I pleaded. I felt bad, but I couldn’t help it. I really did want to go home, even if I’d wake up in a hospital.

“I know,,,” That was the first time I’d ever see him stop smiling. “I’m sorry. I know how it feels.”

He’d scooted to sit right up next to me and let me cry on his shoulder. I don’t actually remember the scenery changing but the next thing I knew, we were sitting in the grass with snow all around us. The air was thick with fog and brisk, and the natural light was brighter than the cave. I couldn’t see anything but there were quiet early morning sounds around us, as if we were in a small town that was just waking up. I was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and he wrapped his big fluffy jacket around me. I was surprised to see him wearing a soft grey turtleneck beneath it, he didn’t seem like the type of person to wear one unless it was a punchline.

“It’s a beautiful day outside… birds are singing, flowers are blooming…” Very softly he spoke, eye sockets flaring a bright blue before returning to normal.

“Where are we?” I asked in an equally quiet tone, awestruck.

“Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time…”

“...Home?”

The silence broke with a snicker as he shook his head. “No, not that far back. A place called ‘Underland’. I used to sell hot dogs here, when we weren’t snowed in.” He laughed again before realizing I didn’t get the joke. “Ah, you don’t know. This part of Underland is called Snowdin.”

He seemed genuinely happy. When I didn’t answer, debating my response, he just continued talking. He began to recount a tale about not only himself but a bunch of monsters close to him, And one little human.

“Her name was Frisk.” He shook his head. “She overcame every obstacle in her path and liberated our entire civilization, turning our entire petty little way of life upside down and dragging us to the surface. I still can’t believe she really did it…”

I was glad to hear him say anything about himself, so I just listened. It was nice.

“I left the Underland with everyone else, of course, and it was all so… different.” He spoke slower, trying to find the words he was looking for. He seemed to get them and opened his mouth, only to be struck by the inevitable realization that once again, he had to leave. He didn’t take his jacket back, instead just zipped it up on me and ruffled my hair.

Time was almost immeasurable in the black sensationless void, but even so I could tell he was gone for a very long time. I would have worried, had I the capacity to in that state.

Eventually though, he did come back to me. He always did. He was grinning as usual, but it was easy to see conflict in his eyes. He brought with him the sense of reality, but there was no setting this time except a smooth floor that still couldn’t see. His eye sockets were glowing blue again and he raised his arm with the indescribable sound of tearing the fabric of reality. I was faced with a seven-foot tall shimmering portal with epilepsy-triggering patterns and shapes inside it. His smile was slipping but it wasn’t due to keeping the rift open.

“Hey, so… remember the outside world?”

I was awestruck. He did this for me? I swear I was grinning wide enough to be a skeleton myself. The fluffy jacket’s sleeves covered my hands but I ran up to grab his anyway, dragging him towards it.

“Come on, let’s go then!”

He didn’t budge. His face was unreadable and his eyes had gone out completely. I pulled harder, determined.

“...Come on…”

“As much as I’d love to, I’m afraid I can’t go with you, buddy.” Those were the words I had dreaded hearing, of course. Always a catch. 

“Then I’m not leaving.”

We were both equally surprised to hear those words leave my mouth, but nevertheless they were true. I refused to go without him, to leave him here all alone. He was silent for minutes as he stared at me, but the rift closed and the cave appeared around us at last. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking but we sat down on the carpet like old times and slowly the conversation began to flow again. 

He seemed both disappointed and relieved, though he wasn’t very invested in the conversation for most of it. Seeming almost paranoid he would frequently look over his shoulder and forget that I exist for a moment. I wanted to bring it up but most of my words weren’t reaching him anyways. I felt bad about it all, eventually just scooting over to him and leaning on his shoulder. After a while he calmed down from whatever he was bugging out about, and interrupted the room’s silence.

“...Are you sure you won’t leave? Kid, I…” Sighing, he shook his head. “It’s… it’s fine. I’m fine, I’ve got my memories to keep me company around here. You should go home.” He smiled at me but it wasn’t real.

“Why can’t you come with me?”

“Because I can’t, okay? I’m not…” He sighed in frustration. “I’m not strong enough to go back. You’ll be fine, you’ve got all that determination.”

“Can’t I be determined enough to take you with me?”

“Just stop with the questions. Go, come on. I… If you don’t go soon you won’t be able to at all.” He wasn’t looking at me, he obviously hadn’t wanted to play that card. I knew I was winning but I didn’t like making him look so despondent. I opened my mouth to argue again but he threw his arm out, opening the portal again.

I was pretty stunned. He was always kindspoken and laid back but he seemed about ready to implode. Standing in silence I reached up to take off his jacket. I had it halfway off before he shook his head, taking the my hand and zipping it back up. 

“I don’t need it.”

I bit my lip, feeling like I was about to cry. Without hesitation I hugged him tightly. I didn’t want to go. But after a moment I had to, I let him go and looked up at him one last time. He was smiling sadly, blue streaks that glowed like his eyes streaking down his face.

“It’s been fun, kiddo. I guarantee you I’m the coolest skeleton you’ll ever hang out with.”

He offered me a fist bump and I took it, smiling back just a little bit.

“Maybe I’ll see you again sometime…” I called before stepping into the rift, hugging his jacket around me.

When I woke up I was alone in a dark room, lying in a hospital bed. I was initially cold when I realized I was wearing only a hospital gown, but I had no time to reflect on that as I suddenly heard my name being called to the side. It was my brother, he was ecstatic that I was awake. We talked for a couple minutes or so until a nurse came in and had him leave, but I didn’t really focus on the conversation. I was too busy staring at the fluffy blue winter hoodie draped over the back of his chair.


	2. Bone-us Chapter

Five weeks.

I was in a coma for eleven months and under observation for a few days until they declared me fit to go home. Honestly, not much had changed. I missed a year of school and our neighbor’s cat had kittens so my brother adopted two and named them Ember and Duck. I managed to live life normally for five whole weeks.

I still hadn’t gone back to school, so I was home alone reading a book when I heard a knock on the door. I figured it was one of my friends coming to see me, so I threw on the hoodie and answered it after a minute.

I didn’t recognize him at first. I was looking at a tall, slightly chubby pale guy about my age with short dark hair and pale blue eyes, wearing an ivory turtleneck and black slacks with blue stripes down the side. He grinned ecstatically at me.

“I was wrong, I guess. You’ve got a lot more determination than I gave you credit for, kiddo. ”

Even then, it took me another second to get it before I practically knocked him over in a hug. It was him of course, my skeleton boy.


End file.
